Available systems for maintenance of passenger vehicles typically require maintenance records to be manually updated. In this regard, an operator of a passenger vehicle is typically required to verbally communicate to a mechanic the maintenance needs of the vehicle for even the simplest of jobs. For example, in a commercial vehicle repair operation, passenger vehicles are usually dropped off at a service site where the operator of the vehicle verbally describes the needed maintenance or a malfunctioning condition before leaving the vehicle at the site for servicing. In a car rental system, a returned vehicle is visually inspected for damage beyond normal wear resulting from the rental. Many problems are not immediately apparent from a visual inspection. When the symptoms of these problems are noticed, the vehicle may have been returned to service and, therefore, the source of the damage cannot be determined. Also, routine maintenance of a rental vehicle is typically performed after it has been returned from service and before it is placed back into the rental fleet. This routine maintenance also requires a visual inspection of the vehicle in order to ensure devices such as head and taillights are properly functioning.
Some suggestions have been made in the past to employ available technology for the purpose of automating transactions concerning vehicles. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,398,172 to Carroll, et al. suggests that a system for interrogating memories on-board vehicles may be used to create an automatic billing system in a car rental environment. Applicants are not aware, however, of a system providing for the full automation of a vehicle transaction, including the routine record keeping associated with the complete maintenance of a vehicle.